PUPLIgATIOS RECKIY D.

late President the any held Setiotite; of Ha'niphrey,Oary, „liart„ Sockity, ith SS Sketch of hislife and *- Fragmentary Re

lections from en40.' Etliteda y id, brother, Johlahavy, F.R.S.

Two Years in Syria. By J. Lewis Palley, late Chief Accountant of the b man Bank, Beyrout.

Sixty Years' Gleanings from Life's Harrest. A genuine autobiography. By John Brown, Proprietor of the University Billiard Rooms, Cambridge. . Erie, or Little by Little ; a Tale of Roslyn School. By Frederic W. Fairer;

Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

14, gillhOrlii..Peu4es of Many Seasonsj- being therCoUrete4 1?oems,of Hugh exu)—

t011 'M A

_Essay on the -Physical COMaiiiitiOn of tho -Celestial-Bodies. By e John Widdup, A.B., L.R.C.S.Ier-Thegreat dijept pf gr. Widdup is- to reconcile the discoveries of geology with the Mosaic account ,of the crea- -. tion, by means of • some astronomical speculations of his own. Strictly speaking, hoWever, there is. little novelty in the resnlf be arrives at, for halands in the extension of the term. " day.", • . . According to the hypothesis. (it. goes.no further) of the.elder .Iletnehel and La Place, the planetary spqnm,:ight have originaled,. by the central tOdy (the min) throwing off portions itself three& irlie rapidity With - Which it revolved updn its axis. At first ' the, iMpella'R the detached -body) might be so great as to overeorric thaiminediateinfluence of gra- vitation ; when this last-named property began to act efficiently...0 it might not be sufficient (all circumstances being taken into consideration) to attract the dctdehed mid moving portion back•to its' original mass; „but it would suffice tredieeet; its motion. into- its preseat orbit. The ori- leinal idea was the astienoinees ; the pert of the mathematician La Place ' was to show by a series of remarkable calculations that the hypothesis ligyht be correct ; that if the earth, for• example, were thrown from the mitt in the way supposed, it would be where it is, and; describe the orbit _lip does. The nebular hypothesis as a trite account of the origin ef; our _planetary system has been rejected by many ; but astronomers and scion- ' tific men in general have, we' believe, admitted the triithof the data on WhiCh the hypothesis rested.

Mr. Widdup holds these ideas to ha:erroneous the planets could not have originated by the rapid rotation of ;the centralbody. They must have been thrown off by heat, and (we are speaking popularly) as the liotter each body was the further it travelled, the present earth might "have reached the distance of the planet now most remote from the sun. as we understand, to the excessive heat and vapour the darkness arose which was dissipated by the command "Let there be light," and the future earth "was without form and void." As matters advanced the earth progressed and got nearer the sun—but, however, let Mr. Wid- dup give his own exposition at least in the earlier stage.

" On the remotion of the next considerable mass of matter by sublimation from the sun, destined to form the body of a new planet, the consequent darkness that ensued ushered on the evening of the second day of creation. In this the earth, by the continued radiation of its superficial heat, was made by the will of Omnipotence instrumental in dividing the waters from the waters' ; some, precipitated thereby in the liquid form, were necessarily deposited on the whole terrestrial surface; some, buoyant above that part of the firmament or expanse of atmosphere which supported them, were con- verted to the state of perceptible vapours. The condition of the earth, there- fore, at the close of this period, was that of a globe entirely covered with water, its solar distance was decreased so as to become analogous to that of Uranus, while Mars, the new planet, occupied a position in the system cor- responding to that of Neptune. ' The intermission of light, which constituted the evening of the third day, was caused by the evolution of the component matter of the planetoids either at short intervals, in separate portions, or, as was most probable, in one continuous mass, subsequently rent asunder into minute fragments by the violent expansion caused by its internal tire. From a similar cause the earth was at this period affected with those commodious, called by geologists convulsions, that raised the land above the waters, under which is had been previously submerged. To one of these is to be attributed the detach- ment, in the form of vaporised 'natter, of what subsequently constituted the body of our satellite, by which, as well as by the constant radiation, the temperature of the land was so reduced as to be no longer unsuited to the growth of an abundant flora, with which Providence accordingly en- dowed it."

The British nriff for 18584'59. By Edwin Beedell, of the office of Examiner and Principal Controller of Accounts, Custom House, London. —This commercial Annual and Guide to the Customs is a volltum in parro, whose-very " contents" are as a book wherein we read informing matter. There are, of course, the customs ditties or taxes on foreign goods imported—a very different list to what it was before Peers reforms of 1842. The book contains abstracts of the laws and regulations govern- ing the importation, exportation, warehousing, and transhipment of mer- chandise, as well as information touching passengers' baggage, articles allowed to be shipped as " stores," and similar information. There is an account of the water-side practice of the customs," for such is the complexity of things in this world, that you cannot pay taxes without learning how, and other directions of a similar kind. The volume is also a sort of importer's directory. We find in it lists of " all the ports or principal places of shipment throughout the world" of the warehousing ports of the United Kingdom, of the sufferance wharfs of London, with their privileges, and of the personel of the Customs, which is a pretty large one.

The year has not supplied much novelty in the way of taxation. The duties on certain metallic substances have been abolished; those on plums, hats and bonnets of felt, and on manufactures of caoutchouc have been modified ; tea and sugar have had the benefit of a reduction till March 1860. Irish whisky has been raised to assimilate the article to British spirits.

Texas, her Resources and her Public Man. By J. D. Cordova.—The author of this publication is a Texian land-anent ; he has also, it appears, published an elaborate map of his State, to which this volume is at once an index and a companion. He has further contrived to make it fulfil a double function, and serve as an advertisement of his own busi- ness ; not only as regards the "locations " be has to dispose of, but in attracting emigrants to the country. This is very well done. There is an apparent good sense and moderation about it, not always met with in more ambitious colonizing guide-books, as well as a series of cautions very unlike an advertisement. It is true Texas is painted

hi41se7Aour. We are told, or rather th

is addre are told,

than a e cken in' any o plade in " a eerie ran ,j,Tt• .tarntems. TAnexasotheinrfacrot. in Texas at less eest emu to whom the bod po Misty' rod, which is, t .c.- e population e e, eMX 'in proportion rw to a ole ce." So healthy is the p ace, sue a rotherhood in the De that doctors and lawyers are not wanted. There is no openingfor-%". indeed some who have come would starve if they did not take to fare et re Irie a Roman patrician in Rome's virtuous days. Perhaps a Be of s, as respects the legal profession, may lie in the cheering fact that tl1; farmer can command ' remunerative prices for every article he oe, raise,' d; a;uidt- which isemore important, he "can always depend u purney through Texas. But calmer and Wise things may be met will; in ,thete'l AdYiee to Emigrants." People are expressly.warned not to receiving-the cad. on the delivery of the produce." These are, ganlodithe pictures, more glowing by a good deal than Mr. Olmsted drew in hi come itthear,oatenot willeleOt work hurtle There is a good deal of Judi. cious advice as to the choice of a 'citation; • attending to health, - lik4eai+..tal•24sireet.k.4,isitaArnilicaviopoi9 jr;talt9iotrimiro,sminerii;i0efri jera,..n.;;istani. By Monier Wi. dace lateePrefessor at the EMst:Itidia College, lIaileybure • -Thineece rare cerreParatIt •ee. and eaey, here,raeans the adaptation of tte English Aphelia -To Hiiidtkiiiik words ; fo'r 6rieielt4 Wi;iting, Mr. Va. Hama remailm, is rarely acquired after youth, so as to be read mile, or

used except upon ,compulsion, • ; •

" We know that even those rho are taught to read English after matu- rity are seldom brought to reed easily and fluently and'ean rarely be made to take pleasure in what to *ern ns always attended-with an irksome effort. How much greater musthe the difficulty of familiarizing the eye to Oriental alphabets may be reaeliliiinagiued-wherier far example, the roumber of let- ters, simple and compoupd, intim Devangme is.lenff-n to amount to nearly

five hundred." ' L • ;

Yet, as the author truly remarks, persons of all kinds going to India should acquire apple knowledge of the language in most,geneeal use, not merely for purposes of convenience' but for a closer sympathy with the natives ; as it is upon this sympathy that our future hold of the country must depend.

Besides the grammar, in which the pronunciation and ether peculi. arities not to say difficnIties of r Hindustaui, areeeamfully, expoended, Professor Cotton Mather of Addiscombe has added a selection of sen- tences and short pieces in Ilindustani, with Aliologues on common sub- jects, and a vocabulary.

Brit ish.Arehreology 'its Progress and Demands. By A. Henry lila. F.S.A. Lend. and Scot:, &c.—Tivo tracts. One on the indifference of the British Museum and some other public bodies to the purchase of ar- ticles illustrative of our ancient history, and the almost universal neglect as to the preservation of antiquities in general from idle or wanton de- struction. And this is a reprint. The other paper is on the law of Tredsure- trove in its effect upon the distovery and preservation of ancient remains and specimens. All that Mr. Rhind says on these subjects is just and true ; but it would have been better had he said it with more force and animation.

Loyal Heart, or the Trappers. By Gustave Aimard. Translated by William Robson. Author of " Life of Richelieu," &c.—A novel of ad- ventures both in South and North America ; those in the South being in- troductory. They involve the usual dangers and escapes in the prairies, and the Indian country, together with a mysteriouS parentage and adore affair to boot. There is plenty of bustle and variety in the story; and a good deal of French cleverness in the construction and execution. Parts remind one of Scott, as if Aimard was a disciple of Sir Walter's. Loyal Heart forms one of Routledge's cheap "original novels."

--- The literary speculation of the week is the commencement of Messrs. Hurst and Blackett's " Standard Library of Cheap Editions of Popular Modern Works," which starts with Sam Slick's "Nature and Human Nature." It forms a handsome volume ; not too small in size and con- sequently not too squat-looking or awkward to handle. The illustration by Leech is clever, and characteristic of Slick at the female college.

The great reprint of the week, however, is the 'first volume of the Literary Works of Lord Bacon, forming a section of the complete edition of his writings in the course of publication under the editorship of Messrs. Spedding, Ellis, and Heath. The three great productions in this volume, are the History of Henry the Seventh, the. Essays, and the De Sapientia Voter= with a translation. There are, however, several fragments sad smaller productions, as the beginning of the reign of Henry the Eighth, and of the History of Great Britain, the Latin panegyrics or "characters ' of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Henry, Julius Caesar, and Augustus. In the editing neither pains or cost have been spared ber. Mr. Spedding. The text has been collated with the 'existing manuscripts and the most au- thoritative editions ; and important variations noted. In Henry the Seventh omissions or exact dates, &c. are supplied in foot-notes; while prefaces, bibliographical, illustrative, and critical, precede each rod. The volume is illustrated by a portrait of Bacon "when a boy, from a coloured bust belonging to the Earl of Verulam." It forms one of a set_ of three, the two others being, it is said, portraits of his father and mother. " They show, among other things, that Bacon's likeness was to his mother." When this part of the series is completed, it will be beyond all question, the edition of the popular works of Bacon.

The cheap edition of the " Curiosities of Literature" is completed be the publication of the third volume. It has a portrait of the author looking rather jovial than either sentimental, elegant, or literary

Nature and Human Henn. By the Author of "Sam Slick, the clod,• maker," Sic. The Works of _Francis Bacon. Baron of Verulani, Viscount St. Alban, and_.I.0..n1., nigh Chancellor of England. Collected and Edited by James Spedding.,a1,,3„ of Trinity College, Cambridge ; Robert Leslie Ellis, M.A., late Fellts.:,a., Trinity College, Cambrige ; and Douglas Denon Heath, Barrister-a late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Volume VI. Literary and fessional Works, Volume I. Curiosities of Literature. By Isaac Disraeli. A New Edition, Edited Memoir and Notes, by his sou the Right Honourable B. Disraeli, Cnan of her Majesty's Exchequer. , In three volumes. Volume III.